Wipe Away Your Inhibitions
by Satine89
Summary: Sequel to 'Sleeping With the Television On'. Nosy Umi Sango always gets the best gossip for her school newspaper column, but when she's assigned a story on the Deimon Devil Bats, will her invasive ways destroy the team  and her friendship with Mamori?
1. Chapter 1

**Number One: Does He Know How to Wind You Up?**

"America."

The Deimon Devil Bats knew that they had really done it this time. If Kiyoko Yasukah, the team's secretary, was flipping out, everyone had a reason to be scared.

Everyone, that is, except for Yoichi Hiruma, who was scared of absolutely nothing. Good thing he handled Kiyoko.

"Yeah," Hiruma responded blankly.

Maybe it wasn't for the best after all.

The rest of Deimon's football team quickly scattered, knowing how Kiyoko, though demure and collected most of the time, had violent if infrequent flares of anger. Even Mamori Anezaki, Kiyoko's close friend and team manager, knew to steer clear, and retreated to the relative safety of the middle of the football field.

Running some fingers through her hair, Mamori caught some snippets of the argument unfolding like a train wreck behind her.

"You have NO IDEA how stupid this is! The principal is FURIOUS, Hiruma! We're all going to be in huge trouble!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, damn tea girl?! I have it under control! Keep your nose in your own business!"

"But what if you DON'T have it under control? Then what?!"

"I DO have it under control! Stay out of my business!"

"You obviously DON'T have it under control, if you brought TWO JAPANESE STUDENTS back! They aren't even from our school!"

"At least they're JAPANESE, right?!"

Mamori walked over to Sena Kobayakawa, her best friend since birth and fellow team manager. Sena was doing his best to ignore the threats and accusations, electing to pump up footballs with a bicycle pump. It was a fairly mindless task.

"She's really irritated this time, isn't she?" Sena mused, watching Kiyoko completely lose it.

"Apparently she didn't know that we left for America," Mamori explained.

"Oh," Sena laughed nervously. Truth be told, very few people had known about it. Sure, the team members had told their families and such, but Sena doubted that any school administrators were even aware of the absence.

Sena and Mamori observed Kiyoko try to escape the argument by going into the clubhouse, but Hiruma followed her in. Mamori sighed.

"Thank goodness," Mamori smiled. "It's almost over, then."

Taro Raimon, the football team's ace receiver, sat down next to Sena, scowling. "Those two don't get along at all."  
"It's scary how much she hates him," Sena agreed.

Mamori almost laughed at the two boys' ignorance. Kiyoko didn't hate Hiruma at all. On the contrary, Kiyoko was secretly in love with the hellish team captain. Why Kiyoko was attracted to such a demonic man, Mamori had no idea, but thinking about the blonde deviant obviously gave Kiyoko a rise of some sort. It wasn't anything to worry about.

Nearby, Kazuki Juumonji, platinum-blonde ex-delinquent, was reading the latest edition of the school paper. He scanned a few pages before something made him stop dead in his tracks.

"I didn't know that Pervert Uten used to be Kiyoko-san's boyfriend," Juumonji finally said plainly.

Mamori ran over to Juumonji's side. "WHAT?!"

Raimon also jumped up. "Pervert Uten?!"

Sena stayed put. Better he didn't interfere.

"Maybe this is why she's so pissed," Juumonji reasoned. "Says here that Kiyoko-san declined to comment…"

"Obviously," Raimon spat. "Why do you think he's called Pervert Uten? He's disgusting."

Mamori, however, viewed this in a totally different light. "Who wrote this?"

Juumonji and Raimon were taken aback, but they skimmed the article quickly.

"Sango Umi," Raimon read off. "Mamori-chan, why are you so -?"

Mamori tromped off, seething and muttering some very colorful things. Raimon and Juumonji stared after her as she walked off.

"Do you think Mamori-chan's going to kill someone?" Raimon wondered.

"Monta, shut up," Juumonji spat, reading the article. Something told Kazuki that this Sango Umi person was in for a serious tongue-lashing.

"I don't see why you care so much about those two! I brought back a tight end! We need one really badly – not that you would know anything about that –"

Kiyoko clenched her fists, her wiry black hair quivering with her body. "I don't care about your damned tight end! What I'd like to know is why you brought back a FREAKING CHEERLEADER!"

An odd silence permeated the clubhouse air. Hiruma was confused from the beginning – usually, their arguments were inconsequential – but it seemed that Kiyoko really did have a reason to hate him. Kiyoko grabbed her forehead, frowning.

"Why…?" Kiyoko murmured. Hiruma made a noise of discomfort, finally realizing that he screwed up badly.

Hiruma pulled the reeling Kiyoko into his embrace. "Why the hell would I want a pipsqueak like her? She's a loud obnoxious mess."

Kiyoko was still frowning. "But she's here, isn't she? Why is she here?"

"I really don't know. Her brother's here, so I guess…"

"And her brother's the tight end?"

"Yeah."

"And she doesn't want you?"

"Even if she did, I don't care."

Kiyoko finally returned his embrace. "I missed you."

"Yeah…"

Kiyoko grinned. Hiruma was not good at verbalizing his feelings. Seeing as he wasn't very touchy-feely with the football team – the exact opposite was true there – it didn't surprise Kiyoko that he couldn't say what was on his mind.

"You know, my parents want me to invite you to dinner again," Kiyoko smiled.

Hiruma's face soured. "Even after what happened last time…?"

"We all got food poisoning, nothing to do about that," Kiyoko shook her head. "They like you, Yoichi…"

Hiruma let go of Kiyoko and slumped into a chair. "…Okay."

Kiyoko stared at him for a long time.

"What?" Hiruma asked.

"I love you," Kiyoko randomly blurted out, sitting in the chair next to his. Hiruma looked at Kiyoko with a devilish smile.

"What?" Kiyoko giggled. She playfully tried to push him away, but she really wanted him to kiss her. And that's what she got.

"Umi-chan, you've gone too far!" Mamori screeched.

A girl with brown hair done into a bun and wire-rim glasses looked up from a printing press in the journalism room. She stared at Mamori blankly.

"It's a juicy story," Umi-chan shrugged. "I'm a journalist – what was I supposed to do?"

Mamori silently fumed. "You're her best friend, Umi-chan! Kiyoko-chan told us to keep that a secret! Why'd you put it in the summer edition of the paper?!"

"She did, didn't she," Umi-chan murmured, her face falling. Umi-chan stepped away from the printing press, going towards the window. Umi-chan watched pensively as, below her on the football field, scenes began to unfold. Monta threw a football to the Devil Bats' benchwarmer, Manabu Yukimitsu, who caught it awkwardly. Koji Kuroki and Shozo Togano, linemen, sat by a drinking fountain and read comic books. Fellow linemen Ryokan Kurita and Daikichi Komisubi trained with the tackle dummies, while Juumonji and Monta continued to read the newspaper. Kiyoko walked out of the clubhouse, a smug smile on her face. It would appear that she won the argument.

"You always do this, Umi-chan," Mamori spat. "If someone tells you a secret, you have to tell the world."

"It's a bad habit," Umi-chan admitted. "Don't you think that boy is cute, Mamori-nee-chan?"

"Which one?" Mamori asked confusedly.

"Kazuki Juumonji, of course," Umi-chan sighed airily before covering her mouth. Mamori smiled gently.

"See? You can't even keep your own secrets," Mamori chastised lightly. She shuffled through the papers lying all over a nearby desk. Mamori's eyes widened when she caught sight of one of them. "What's this?"

Umi-chan shuttered. "Oh that! It's -!"

"A piece on the Deimon Devil Bats?" Mamori read off of the yellow memo pad paper. Mamori turned to Umi-chan. "Were you going to do this?"

"Seeing as I know most of them," Umi-chan scoffed haughtily.

"Okay then," Mamori grinned. "I have a deal for you."

Umi-chan gulped. "Okay."

"You know that if Yoichi Hiruma gets a whiff of that article, he'll kill you."

Umi-chan's skin went a shade paler. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that."

"He's not going to trust you," Mamori predicted. She fiddled with the tie on her uniform. Umi-chan, still observing the scenes below with a detached air, chewed on the side of her mouth nervously.

"Kiyoko-chan's going to give me hell," Umi-chan realized suddenly.

Mamori gently smiled. "She already gave that to Hiruma-kun. You'll get something milder, I'm sure."

"UMI-CHAN!"

Umi-chan turned to Mamori, who stood absolutely still, bowled over by Kiyoko's still explosive temper.

"You said she wouldn't be mad," Umi-chan spat at Mamori. Mamori pretended not to listen, instead observing a stray strand of reddish-brown hair on her head.

Kiyoko tied a green ribbon in her hair swiftly, never averting her piercing gaze away from Umi-chan. Umi-chan gulped.

"Why did you write that article?! I told you about my past on the condition that you kept it in the strictest confidence!" Kiyoko blathered angrily.

Umi-chan sighed gratefully. Kiyoko was using her extensive vocabulary again. Maybe she wasn't too mad after all.

"You know that Hiruma-san is going to kill you for doing this," Kiyoko muttered. "Secretary or not, I'm still part of the team."

Umi-chan ground her teeth irritably. "You talk about him so casually, like he can't touch you."

"I'm not special like that," Kiyoko answered mindlessly, biting her lip and calming herself. Mamori recalled the good old days, when Kiyoko barely used this technique as a last-ditch effort to regain composure. Now it seemed like all Kiyoko did was bite her lip, thanks to Hiruma's constant aggravations and Umi-chan's vigorous transgressions.

Kiyoko leaned against the wall of the football team's clubhouse. "Well, Umi-chan, I've heard that you're going to write an article about the Devil Bats."

Umi-chan jumped. "How do you…?"

"The president of the Journalism Club came to me today, asking for permission to do the article," Kiyoko responded. The three girls began to walk home. Kiyoko seemed to be looking behind her, as if waiting for someone. Umi-chan perked up and gave Kiyoko a coy smile.

"Who're you looking for?" Umi-chan chirped.

Kiyoko gave her a death glare. "…Umi-chan, even if I trusted you, I wouldn't tell."

Mamori shook her head. Kiyoko's stupid crush.

"I don't trust you at all," Kiyoko bluntly said. Umi-chan blinked.

"Why not…?" Umi-chan murmured.

"Every secret I've ever told you has ended up broadcast to the world."

"Oh come on. Not EVERY secret."

"How about when I liked Ishimaru-kun?"

"One time!"

"Pervert Uten."

"Twice…"

"My cosplay modeling job? My sister-in-law's first marriage? Cerberus? The flamethrower? I can go on…"

Umi-chan frowned. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But, seriously, who were you looking for?"

Kiyoko turned to Mamori. Mamori noticed the glint in Kiyoko's eyes – it was subtle, but very easy to understand: Kiyoko had a plan.

"Well, Mamori-nee-chan has been keeping a secret from you for a long time, Umi-chan. Maybe if you can keep that secret…"

Umi-chan was giddy with excitement. "Of course! I can keep it!"

Mamori seemed worried, but sighed. "Kiyoko…"

"Can you keep the secret for the entire time it takes you to write this article on our team?" Kiyoko wondered aloud.

"Definitely!" Umi-chan cooed.

"You better, because if Hiruma-san finds out you broke our trust…" Kiyoko mimicked a guillotine coming down on her head. It was disturbing, to say the least.

"Okay, Light, I get it," Umi-chan grimaced. "So what's this secret of Mamori's?"

A/N: When I decided to write a sequel to 'Sleeping With the Television On', I wanted something as freewheeling as its predecessor. That's where I came across the idea of using Umi-chan, one of the bit players from the first story, as a catalyst for an entire second story about life and love… mostly love. It was also a subconscious desire of mine to continue with Kiyoko's story, seeing as she was the first OC character I really connected with… and since she wasn't a Mary Sue, that was nice.

A/N 2: Like 'Sleeping With the Television On', 'Wipe Away Your Inhibitions' has titles all taken from song lyrics. Once again, I encourage you to guess… and the title is also a song lyric, taken from Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel's 'Bop to the Top' (from 'High School Musical').

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Eyeshield 21. Sorry about that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Number Two: Now I Run From You**

"Mamori-nee-chan is in love with Sena-kun?" Umi-chan repeated to herself warily. "It almost sounds too obvious."

Umi-chan rested on her futon serenely, as poised as a regal Siamese cat. Even her tank top and borrowed boxer shorts were not enough to keep her cool in the sweltering Tokyo heat. She stared blankly at a wind chime on her windowsill.

"But… if I can keep that secret, I'll find out who Kiyoko-chan's been in love with for so long…" Umi-chan leaned against the wall beneath her window, content with herself.

"Why care about Yasukah-san's relationships?" a random voice butted in.

"Because she's so emotionless!" Umi-chan responded gaily. "For her to love, after all the crap that's happened to her before…"

Umi-chan suddenly realized that she had no idea who she was talking to. She jumped up, staring out the window, before giving a sigh of relief.

"Oh, Shozo, it's just you," Umi-chan smiled. "You scared me."

"You need to close your freaking window at night," Shozo Togano, comic-book junkie, frowned. "How many times has everyone told you that?"

"Too many," Umi-chan replied, defeated. "Where are you going so late at night?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Togano shrugged, adjusting his sunglasses. "I wanted to see you."

Umi-chan blinked. "We see each other all the time. You live next door."

"I just read that article about Yasukah-san," Togano said coldly. "Honestly, Umin, what were you thinking?"

Umi-chan had been dreading this. Mamori wasn't very hard on her, and Kiyoko had been surprisingly subdued, but Togano wasn't going to take it easy on her. That's the unfortunate side-effect of knowing someone for twelve years and counting.

"Nothing," Umi-chan admitted. "I rarely think. I just do things."

"You should stop that," Togano berated her. "Uten-san is a nasty piece of work. He could use this to blackmail Yasukah-san later on in life. Or he could try something… like, maybe, getting her back."

Umi-chan smiled wearily. "You know, you're the first person who hasn't said something about Hiruma-san."

"I figured that one was a little too obvious to mention," Togano laughed easily. "…You know, Umin, you should try harder to keep the secrets you're given."

"Mamori-nee-chan and Kiyoko-chan are forcing me to do that," Umi-chan muttered angrily. "They told me, 'keep this secret while you write the article on the Devil Bats, and we'll tell you who Kiyoko's so madly in love with'." Umi-chan leaned down against the wall, beneath her window. "That's going to be fun."

"Well, I can tell you who Yasukah-san isn't in love with," Togano mused.

Umi-chan raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't care about Kiyoko-chan's love life."

"I don't. I do care about Kazuki's, though," Togano admitted. "Stupid Kazuki. It's very obvious that Yasukah-san does NOT want to date him. But he keeps asking. Oh well, life goes on…"

Umi-chan smiled. "Yes, life goes on… would Juumonji-kun be interested in me?"

"Hard to tell."

"Okay."

"…Would Suzuna-san be interested in me?"

"I doubt it."

"All right then."

"Stand still, Kiyoko! I'll end up stabbing you with this needle!"

Kiyoko obligingly held her arm out, frowning and angry. "Ako, it's ten-thirty at night. Can't we do this later?"

"Inspiration hit now. No time," Ako, Kiyoko's older brother, spat quickly before stitching some black lace onto a Gothic Lolita-esque dress. Kiyoko didn't want to be wearing it, as always, but, being the only one of the Yasukah siblings to still be in the house with Ako, she had no choice.

Ako, now twenty years old, was still in his parents' house because of Kiyoko. Ako ran a successful cosplayer's shop in the heart of Deimon, with his longtime best friend Meichi Masureko, and Kiyoko was the unwilling clothing model for all of his catalogs. Kiyoko really detested the Gothic Lolita style that was so popular amongst cosplayers, and since she hated most of the trendy anime, she ended up disliking costume designs, too.

Ako brushed some wispy black hair out of his face, giving his perfectly sculpted face some light. "This dress is going to be gorgeous, Kiyoko! I can feel it!"

Kiyoko sighed angrily. "It's also going to arouse dangerous thoughts in perverts' minds."

"It's called Gothic Lolita because of how morbidly cute it is," Ako retorted. "How many times must I go through this with you? It has nothing to do with tempting older men."

Kiyoko was silent as Ako tightened the lacy bows adorning her bell sleeves. Kiyoko looked down at her shiny Mary Janes and the sleek purple socks, pulled up to her thighs. Ako seemed satisfied with his work.

"Look in the mirror, Kiyoko!" Ako demanded, pushing her over to the full-length mirror resting against his wall. Through the measuring tape and fabric draped over its edges, Kiyoko could see herself in a dark Alice-in-Wonderland getup, complete with a black lacy ribbon in her hair, a Victorian style dress with bell sleeves and sheer black material around the neck, fishnet gloves, and a black hoop skirt beneath it all, to keep the shape of the dress. Kiyoko frowned, noticing the ruby red lipstick on her lips.

"I hate this Gothic Lolita crap," Kiyoko reiterated, "but this dress looks kind of cute. Like a Victorian fairy tale. A gloomy one, but still."

Ako rolled his eyes. "I'll never make a dress that you'll love."

"That's not true!" Kiyoko yelled quickly. "What about that wedding dress you made for Karasu-sama?"

"Figures you would like that. It's completely normal." Ako smiled. "…Actually, I am making something for you."

"Hmm?" Kiyoko murmured, letting Ako position her for a picture. Kiyoko sat on his favorite plush stepstool, ruffling her petticoats with faux sexiness. "Something for me?"

"Yeah, actually," Ako smiled, his effeminate features lighting up. "I think you're going to like it a lot, Kiyoko."

Kiyoko grinned, grabbing the edge of the dress. "Somehow I'm not sure…"

Ako readied the camera, studying Kiyoko's natural pose. "You really should look into modeling, Kiyoko."

"I've made up my mind," Kiyoko pressed, looking to the side shyly. "I'm going to be a mother."

"That's not a job," Ako told her, snapping the picture.

"It's what I want to do."

Kiyoko and Ako looked at each other, a slight tension between the two.

"How's your boyfriend?" Kiyoko asked nonchalantly. Ako turned bright red and pushed Kiyoko out of his room hastily.

Umi-chan adjusted the tie on her school uniform. Today was the day she started on her most important job yet – the Devil Bats article. So much was riding on this. Rumor had it that this article would guarantee her a position as co-editor-in-chief if done correctly, not to mention the fact that, if she kept Mamori's secret, she would finally discover who Kiyoko's mystery lover was.

And, Umi-chan thought with a smirk, it wasn't Juumonji. Maybe she had a chance with him after all.

Umi-chan confidently strode down the walkway from the second-year's entrance to the football field. Her notebook jutted out of the breast pocket of her blouse, and a pencil was stuck into her tight bun. Her hands were relaxed, her eyes were inviting, her stance was assertive, and –

"OH MY GOD!" Umi-chan screamed as a rocket launcher went off approximately three inches away from her face. All aplomb disappeared rapidly, and Umi-chan was back to her frantic, hyperactive self.

It was slightly entertaining to Kiyoko, but the rest of the team, who had stopped dead in their tracks to see who was screaming their head off, found it slightly idiotic.

Hiruma just ignored it. "STOP GAWKING, DAMN PIPSQUEAK!" (Sena flinched. His 'nickname' was being used.) "40-METER DASH! NOW! YOU TOO, YA DAMNED MONKEY!"

"I AM NOT A MONKEY!" Monta screeched. Hiruma pointed a Sig Sauer to his temple.

"SHUT UP AND MOVE!" Hiruma demanded. Monta was in no position to argue.

Umi-chan watched this entire exchange with an air of disbelief. Togano walked by her, trying to figure out which sleeve his arm was supposed to be poking out of. Umi-chan looked to him pleadingly. Togano laughed.

"Hey, you got yourself into it," was the only response he could give.

Umi-chan gritted her teeth before tromping over to Mamori. Mamori was watching in horror as Hiruma attempted to kill Yukimitsu for tripping over his own two feet. Umi-chan joined in her dismay before shaking herself out of her stupor.

"Wow," Umi-chan blurted out. She took the pencil out of her bun and clicked on the end of it. The mechanical pencil was now ready for use. Soon the notebook came out, and Umi-chan was scribbling down notes on the daily happenings of the team.

"You get used to it," Mamori smiled wearily. "If you want to get a better idea of the behind-the-scenes action, I would ask…"

Mamori looked to Hiruma. He was now yelling at Kiyoko, who was doing her best to keep her cool. It wasn't working.

"…I wouldn't ask about that right now," Mamori advised. "As for the players, Manabu Yukimitsu-kun and Monta-kun are the receivers. Sena also trains with them…" Mamori pointed the two out. Yukimitsu was balding, with black hair and a very lanky build, while Monta had a head full of auburn hair and a sort of squat frame. Umi-chan nodded.

"And the line?" Umi-chan mused.

"Well, we have Ryokan Kurita-kun," (a cuddly-looking, gigantic guy) "Daikichi Komisubi-kun," (a smaller version of Kurita, with a red nose) "Shozo Togano-kun," (Umi-chan grinned) "Koji Kuroki-kun," (a friend of Togano's with black hair and a tendency to overreact to everything) "and Kazuki Juumonji-kun."

Umi-chan looked over at Juumonji. He was silently, yet obviously, competing with Komisubi. The two of them were working with the tackle dummies, trying to get their respective dummy to move farther backwards. So far, Komisubi was winning.

"And finally, our tight end, Natsuhiko Taki-kun." Natsuhiko was showing off his flexibility, as usual. However, a chick with blue hair was beating the crap out of him. Umi-chan looked to Mamori.

"And who's the girl?"

"His sister, Suzuna Taki-chan."

Umi-chan looked at the blue-haired girl again. "She seems familiar…"

"She did go to Sakura Girls' MS for a while with us," Mamori reminisced. "I barely knew her, but I didn't really hang out with you in middle school."

Hiruma had stopped yelling at Kiyoko, and was now trying to kill Monta. Or was just passing the ball to him. It looked the same to Umi-chan.

"Wow." This time, Umi-chan was legitimately impressed.

Mamori glanced at Kiyoko, who was not five feet away, filling out some accounting forms. She was surreptitiously glaring – angrily – at Umi-chan. Mamori grinned gently, sidling up to her.

"Feeling threatened?" Mamori wondered. Kiyoko jumped before turning a furious red color.

"N-no!" Kiyoko stammered. "She just… doesn't know him, is all! She won't think he's so cool after she gets to know him!"

Umi-chan wandered off as Mamori smiled knowingly at Kiyoko. Umi-chan could tell that Mamori was destined to become a mother, just from her composure and her kindness. Umi-chan really had no idea where she was going, and meandered over to where Togano was adjusting his gloves.

"Shozo, who should I interview first?" Umi-chan asked him nervously. "I mean, look at these people! They are so… tough-looking… and crazy…"

"Well, you're probably going to want to interview Kobayakawa-kun," Togano informed her. "I know you're going to interview Kazuki, so whatever, not stopping you… just so you know, he's gonna try to ask Kiyoko out again today, so maybe you should interview him later in the week…"

Umi-chan's heart sank. "How many times will this be?"

"Twenty-three, if he does it again today," Togano frowned.

Umi-chan bit her lip, hurt. "Doesn't he get it? There are other girls… girls who would do anything for him…"

Togano and Umi-chan stood silently for a few seconds.

"Is Hiruma-san trying to kill Juumonji-kun?" Umi-chan suddenly asked.

"Hiruma-san tries to kill everyone," Togano replied blankly. "Actually, if you want to interview someone right now, a good bet would be the team cheerleader, Suzuna-chan…"

A flush rose on Togano's face as he spoke Suzuna's name. Umi-chan giggled.

"How cute," she murmured before walking over to Suzuna, who, at the moment, was cheering the Devil Bats on, even in their practice.

A/N: Normally, if I had no reviews, I wouldn't post the next chapter of something for a while. But in checking my stats, I noticed that the first chapter, without any second chapter to go to, had 82 hits – very unusual for a story of mine outside of the Family Guy realm, minus a few random instances (like _The Plug_ or _Coming to America_). So, at the risk of sounding greedy, please review… if 80 people are interested in this story, let the world know it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Eyeshield 21. I wish I did. Then I could quit my job.


	3. Chapter 3

**Number Three: My Life's A Maze of Grace**

Umi-chan was pumped. Suzuna appeared to be a perfectly normal, peppy girl. Interviewing her about the team would be a piece of cake.

Umi-chan sat down next to Suzuna on a bench. Suzuna was standing on the bench, shouting her ganbares and her go for its. Umi-chan was considerably calmed by her lively nature – perhaps it was the similarities between the two girls.

Suzuna glanced down at Umi-chan, her Sukeito High uniform rustling in the wind. What an adorable girl – Kiyoko could see why Togano would like her. Umi-chan couldn't shake the feeling that she knew this girl, especially when Suzuna looked into her eyes.

"Are you Sango-chan?" Suzuna inquired. Umi-chan nodded happily.

"Yep, that's me," Umi-chan replied. "And you must be Suzuna-chan?"

Suzuna jumped up, landing on the bench hard. Umi-chan saw her rub her backside tensely before giving Umi-chan a bubbly smile.

"Uh-huh!" Suzuna cooed. She brushed some bluish hair out of her face, grinning widely. "So… what do ya wanna know?"

"Well…" Umi-chan thought. "First of all, you're Taki Suzuna… what exactly do you do with the Deimon Devil Bats? I mean, you don't even go to our school…"

"Well, my brother is the tight end, so I felt like I should cheer him on!" Suzuna answered merrily. "I started the Devil Bats cheerleading squad!"

Suzuna's eyes suddenly narrowed evilly, and she leaned in closer to Umi-chan. "But there are other reasons I'm here, too. You see, all of these players have secret crushes… like Kurita-kun, and Mamori-chan, and even Kiyoko-chan!"

Suzuna smiled in a lopsided manner. "I want to try and set up the people on this team that would look good together. But the members are hard to peg. I mean, I would have thought that Kiyoko-chan would love to be with Juumonji-kun…"

Umi-chan was getting really sick of people rubbing Juumonji's feelings in her face. It was almost insulting.

"Right then, so you formed the cheerleading squad. How big is it right now, would you say?" Umi-chan's face suddenly darkened. "And also, did you know that Kiyoko-chan has a crush on someone, and that she won't speak his name, lest she die?"

"The cheer squad is about fifteen people strong, but we're looking for more members – always!" Suzuna gave a cute little wink. This charming gesture soon became a sly face of intrigue. "Of course I know about Kiyoko-chan and that freaking lover of hers. I asked her about him, and she just said that he's older than her."

"Neat, so you're looking for more cheerleaders. It doesn't surprise me that he's older than her, though. After Pervert Uten – he was younger than her, you know." Umi-chan scribbled some notes down on her memo pad. "What does a Devil Bats cheerleader like you typically do at practices?"

"Personally, I keep my psycho brother in check," Suzuna admitted. "It would be so nice if he could find a calm girlfriend to keep him in line…" Suzuna smiled, as if this thought struck her as amusing. "I also sustain morale and I'm usually told to talk to the press." Suzuna's guard dropped, and she hunched over on the bench, face business-like. "Okay, let's cut the crap. You're more interested in Kiyoko-chan than in interviewing me. I'm more interested in what you might know than answering your questions. What do you say to, maybe, teaming up with me again?"

Umi-chan blinked. "Again?"

"Yeah," Suzuna shrugged, lips pouting and eyes glittering. "Remember when you were the Legendary Snoop Sango-chan?"

"I haven't been called that since I was at Sakura Girls'… Middle…" Umi-chan stared at Suzuna for a very long time before it finally hit her. "You're Suzuna-chan, the Matchmaker!"

"Now you remember!" Suzuna cried happily. "Remember? We were the perfect team in the Sakura Girls' Journalism class! You snooped, I worked my magic, and we had an article!"

Suzuna grabbed Umi-chan's hands. "Maybe… we could write this article together, hmm? It'll be like our old stuff!"

Umi-chan blinked. The old stuff was genius; everyone said so. Suzuna and Umi-chan would go out and research a pretty couple, or a certain lovelorn person. Through Umi-chan's snooping, and Suzuna's amazing perky power, they would discover everything, and then write an article explaining a person's past and their present. The two even had their own section for these student biographies – Lovely Student Corner. Umi-chan grinned just thinking about it. The return of the Lovely Student Corner, except with the members of the Devil Bats?

"Count me in!" Umi-chan giggled. "But… I'm still researching for a Devil Bats article. Got it?"

Suzuna nodded. "Yeah, I've got it."

Umi-chan and Suzuna looked at the various football players and random managers running around screaming bloody murder (Sena). Never a dull moment, as it were. Umi-chan took some notes on the mood of the practice. Hell, she had a whole article right there: Umi Sango explains how being at a football practice reminds her of a world war.

"Hiruma is rather controlling," Umi-chan noticed.

"If that's the word you want to use," Suzuna murmured airily. "Although… something tells me that he's hiding something. Something – hey, what's Juumonji doing?"

Umi-chan's eyes darted over to the blonde lineman. He was walking nervously towards Kiyoko, who was busy inspecting a shipment of Devil Bats T-shirts that had just arrived from the shirt company. As she checked the T-shirt sizes, Juumonji, wobbly-legged, meandered over to the wiry-haired freshman.

"Not again," Suzuna moaned loudly. "Can't he hit on someone ELSE?!"

Umi-chan knew that Suzuna was being selfish. She just wanted a new bit of gossip. But Umi-chan agreed with Suzuna – couldn't he forget about Kiyoko and notice _her_?

"What is it this time, Juumonji-kun?" Kiyoko inquired coolly. She wasn't on great terms with him, considering all of his failed attempts to date her. Juumonji could tell that Kiyoko didn't want to be disturbed, but his heart prevailed, and he found himself at her side.

"...Kiyoko-san, I think I know what your response will be," Juumonji sighed.

"If you're going to ask the same question as before, then the answer is no." Kiyoko shook her head. A thought struck her, and she gave one of the multitude of shirts surrounding her to Juumonji. "New shirts. You're a medium, right?"

"Right," Juumonji murmured, taking the shirt in his shaking hands. "Kiyoko-san, why won't you go out with me?"

Kiyoko frowned, going back to sorting shirts. "Because I don't like you like that."

"There have been plenty of relationships where two people grow to like each other," Juumonji covered.

Kiyoko bit her lip. He was being oddly persistent today. "Look, Juumonji-kun, you're just going to have to trust me. I really can't see myself dating you…"

Hiruma's ears perked up. He and Monta were practicing pass routes in the center of the football field, near where Kurita, Komisubi, and Kuroki were trying to tackle each other. Kurita was the victor so far, with sixteen tackles. Hiruma dropped his football and casually strolled over to where Kiyoko and Juumonji were mildly bickering.

"I don't understand, Kiyoko-san. Many people have said that we would look good together – that you and I would be very well-matched," Juumonji explained. Kiyoko gripped one of the shirts tightly, shoulders sinking.

"It isn't a question of being well-matched, Juumonji-kun," Kiyoko countered exasperatedly. "I really am in no position to date you, or to entertain your advances. I already have a boyfriend."

Hiruma bit his tongue as he sidled up to Kiyoko. Juumonji flinched, and a shadow descended over Kiyoko's face. She didn't even need to turn around.

"Let me guess. You already knew that, didn't you, Hiruma-san?" Kiyoko muttered.

Kiyoko really hated keeping her relationship with Hiruma a secret, but the way Hiruma had explained it to her made perfect sense: Hiruma had a fairly large number of enemies, and if she was revealed to be his girlfriend, she would probably end up dead. Not a particularly good fate. To let the fact slip in front of Juumonji was… stupid of her, to say the least…

Kiyoko prayed that Hiruma was good at acting.

"Well seeing as it's written all over your face," Hiruma spat. Kiyoko almost let out a huge sigh of relief, but her better judgment kicked in.

Juumonji was shell-shocked. "A boyfriend…?"

Monta happened to be walking by with a big basket of equipment, which he promptly dropped.

"Kiyoko-chan?" Monta mused. "You have a boyfriend? Cute MAX!"

Kiyoko buried her face into her right hand. Her left eye glared at Juumonji venomously as Hiruma laughed threateningly.

"Wow, she's embarrassed MAX," Monta noted, turning to Juumonji. "Maybe Kiyoko-chan didn't want to talk about it?"

"Uh," was all Juumonji could say.

Hiruma walked away, apparently scribbling in his book of threats. Kiyoko gave Juumonji one last death stare before grabbing all of the shirts and retreating into the clubhouse. Monta reached down for the equipment, shaking his head gently.

"Seriously, though," Monta laughed, "that schizophrenic has a boyfriend?"

Juumonji nearly throttled him.

A/N: My big goal with this sequel was to create a slice-of-life story with some driving plot elements. It's not really like Sleeping With The Television On, in that it centers on a certain event in time. It's a catalyst-reaction type story, I think. I also appreciate all the hits I'm getting for this, even if no one's reviewed – hits means someone's reading, and for that I'm glad.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Eyeshield 21, unfortunately. Notice how I don't claim ownership. smiles Sign of a good lawyer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Number Four: We Both Share the Same Blood**

"Kiyoko-chan has a boyfriend… cute MAX!"

Monta was overjoyed, but Mamori was decidedly not. Because Mamori knew that Kiyoko would only accept one person as her suitor. And that one person was a freak.

Monta was joining Mamori, Sena, Umi-chan, and Kiyoko on their walk home. Kiyoko was steaming.

"Just keep talking like I'm not here," Kiyoko growled through grit teeth, her arms crossed across her chest.

Sena twiddled his thumbs. "Uh, Yasukah-san, if you don't mind me asking… why didn't you say anything about your boyfriend?"

Kiyoko's face turned bright red, and her eyes widened. "Well, ah, um… he's not important! Not important at all! Oh look, the side street! And I need to go to Son-Son! Well, see you later, guys!"  
Kiyoko bolted, leaving a few startled people behind. Umi-chan let out a small, stifled laugh, prompting Monta to look at her confusedly.

"It has to be someone that we know," Umi-chan grinned. "Why would she be so embarrassed…?"

Mamori said nothing, cursing Kiyoko's unsound reasoning and fallacious impulses. Why Hiruma? Mamori had asked Kiyoko thousands of times, and it was always the same random story as an answer: the day she got suspended from Deimon MS, she saw him practicing football and fell for him. Love at first sight, one might say.

But it didn't really answer why Kiyoko still loved him, after getting to know him. Since Kiyoko had stuck around after seeing his sadism in action, she was either dedicated or insane. Or maybe –

Mamori gagged. She didn't want to think about it.

"Mamori-nee-chan, are you all right?" Sena inquired, seeing her choke on her own spit. "Mamori-nee-chan!"

"I'm okay, Sena," Mamori responded, her face slightly pink.

Umi-chan suddenly remembered something fairly important: _I need to find out if Sena-kun likes Mamori-chan!_

"Seriously? A boyfriend?" Kuroki murmured. "A secret boyfriend."

Juumonji, Kuroki, and Togano were sitting outside of a local manga store, drinking cokes and slacking off. Togano had gotten the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump and was reading it, only partly paying attention to the conversation surrounding him.

"Yasukah-san is a piece of work, I'm just going to say that right now," Togano said, flipping the page. "Umin tells me that she had a screwed-up past, and my guess is that her boyfriend isn't entirely normal."

Juumonji glowered at Togano. "Her boyfriend isn't the problem… I need to get over her."

"I've been saying that for weeks," Kuroki frowned, looking over Togano's shoulder. "Hey, it's Bobobo."

"Want to look?" Togano offered his manga, pushing it upwards to the standing Kuroki. Juumonji watched passerby on the street, walking, biking, sitting in chairs at street corner cafés. In one of the stores was a ditzy brunette with kinky hair trying to arrange some cream puffs in a store display. The manager for the Ojo White Knights was sipping tea as she weaved through traffic across the street. A girl with raven hair walked into Son-Son, flustered and frantic. Togano blinked. It was Kiyoko.

"Hey, just try and forget about it," Togano smirked. "You can get over her, Kazuki. I think that the whole boyfriend thing is probably a good sign…"

Hiruma wandered into Son-Son as well. Through the window, Togano could see Kiyoko avoiding his gaze as he picked up some groceries. She flipped through a publication on tea ceremony and the geisha art form, the flush on her face rising exponentially. She finally ducked into an aisle, out of view from the outside.

Togano looked up. Kuroki was absorbed in the manga, and Juumonji was busy kicking a can against a wall. Togano coughed. There was no way that scene just happened. None at all.

And there was no way that Hiruma followed her into the aisle.

It was all a hallucination; it was merely a trick of the eyes.

"Ashira-san?"

From within Kariya, the noted cream puff factory, a crash was heard. Kurita winced, knowing who caused the noise. It had to be Ashira Noriyama, the clumsiest girl in the greater Deimon area.

Ashira propped herself up against a doorframe behind the counter, her frizzy brown hair flying in all directions. She steadied her pale frame before walking up to the counter.

"Hello, Kurita-kun," Ashira smiled, adjusting her crooked servers hat. "Having a good day?"

"Yes, of course!" Kurita said in his good-natured way. "Practice was good, and there was a reporter from the school paper at our training. She seemed very nice."

Ashira nodded. "My day's been as normal as usual."

"Did you break more things?" Kurita inquired worriedly.

"Nope, I've been break-free all day!" Ashira grinned. "Now… how many cream puffs would you like, Kurita-kun?"

"…You're walking me home again, aren't you?" Kiyoko questioned dully. "Seriously, for wanting to keep our relationship a secret, you do a lot of un-secretive things."

Hiruma frowned, shaking his head. "Freaking Juumonji…"

"I can't believe you're jealous of him," Kiyoko murmured in an angry tone. "I've said no to him enough. I love you, you dork."

"I know." Hiruma blushed. Not one to open up to another. "In a way, I guess I'm glad you told him you had a boyfriend."

"But then Monta overheard…"

"And Monta will tell everyone…"

"Including Taki-san… and the other Taki-san…"

"And the other two Hah brothers, and that damned pipsqueak, and Anezaki-san…"

Kiyoko stopped walking. Hiruma looked behind him.

"What?" Hiruma asked with an indifferent face.

Kiyoko appeared to be thinking about something. Suddenly, her jaw dropped. "Oh my GOD! I told Mamori-nee-chan that I liked you about four months ago!"

There was a bit of an awkward silence as the two of them trudged on.

"Actually, that's not too big of a deal," Kiyoko finally mused.

"It's just Anezaki-san," Hiruma added. "I don't worry about her."

"Fairly independent, isn't she?" Kiyoko shrugged. "At least, she appears that way. She's madly in love with Sena-kun, actually."

Hiruma had to laugh. "That would have to be the weirdest couple ever. It'd almost be incest."

"…Never thought of it that way," Kiyoko admitted. "That would be creepy. REALLY, really –"

"I knew it."

Kiyoko and Hiruma looked up, following the sound of the voice. Mamori was peeking out of her window, staring the two of them down from her room. Her school uniform had been shunned in favor of a Rocket Bear tee and jeans, and her hair was tied into a short ponytail. Kiyoko blanched.

"Mamori-nee-chan. Hi," Kiyoko said rather drearily. She quickly turned to Hiruma. "Say something!"

Hiruma blinked. "Uh… so you live next door to the pipsqueak, then?"

Mamori sighed before poking her entire head out the window. Kiyoko attempted to hide behind Hiruma. The simple act gave Hiruma a not-so-brilliant idea.

"Yeah, have you met my girlfriend?" Hiruma asked Mamori in a mocking tone. Kiyoko smacked her hand against her forehead.

"Stupid!" she grunted.

Mamori wasn't amused. "Hiruma-san, I'm really not in the mood. The only reason I can think of for you dating Kiyoko-chan is… disturbing, to say the least."

"He hasn't done anything to me," Kiyoko spoke up, face bright red.

Hiruma gritted his teeth awkwardly. "Probably not the best time to tell you this, but your brother thinks that we did it."

"Which brother?" Kiyoko inquired curiously.

"I don't mean to be interrupting, but…" Mamori heaved a huge, heated sigh. "Why him, Kiyoko-chan?"

Kiyoko shrugged as Hiruma stood by blankly, trying not to get too irritated. He didn't like Mamori that much. The whole 'motherly' act was annoying at best, and it was obviously a front, seeing as she was in love with her surrogate 'son'.

Kiyoko gave a very wicked smile, running her fingers through her hair. "Well, isn't it obvious? He's gorgeous, talented, and… well, I shouldn't be saying anything, but God, the way he -"

Mamori banged her head against the windowsill. "Kiyoko-chan… stop taking this as a joke. I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"There's nothing to worry about, damn manager!" Hiruma exclaimed before Kiyoko got a hand on his mouth.

"Mamori-nee-chan… you know that if anything happened, your house would be the first place I went," Kiyoko told her. "I get what you're thinking: he bullied me into dating him. But it didn't happen like that… so. Yeah. I think I'm going to go home now."

Kiyoko removed her hand from Hiruma's face. Mamori smiled hesitantly.

"If you're happy, I'm happy," was all Mamori had to say before closing the window and retreating into her room. Hiruma gaped up at it for a while.

"That was strange." Hiruma ran after Kiyoko, catching up to her effortlessly.

Kiyoko let her face drop a little. "Mamori-nee-chan is only looking out for everyone's best interests. I don't think she meant any harm…"

"I was talking about you. You're strange. Seriously, what was with that smirk thing you had going? Really weird, Kiyoko," Hiruma countered. "But…" Hiruma wrapped his arms around Kiyoko before ducking behind a nearby tree. She closed her eyes, smiling and becoming serene.

"Did you really mean that?" Hiruma wondered.

"Mean what?" Kiyoko responded.

"You said that you thought I was gorgeous."

"That covers it." Kiyoko glanced up at Hiruma's face. He was delighted, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Yoichi, why can't you smile like that all the time?"

"…I don't know what you're talking about," Hiruma lied.

A/N: I haven't posted anything on this story in a while, partly because, despite the fact that I'm getting otherworldly amounts of hits on this fic, there are still no reviews. Yes I am being very self-serving. The other part of it was that editing this and the fifth chapter was near impossible given the flow of the story and life circumstances. Anywho, enjoy chapter four.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Eyeshield 21.


	5. Chapter 5

**Number Five: Please, Oh, Baby!**

Kuroki was confused. Although this appeared to be a perpetual state of his, he was actually fairly competent. But what Togano was telling him was absolutely ridiculous.

"Haah…?" Kuroki finally replied, mystified.

Togano shook his head. "I knew this would happen. Koji, you have to trust me. Umin is in love with Kazuki, who is in love with Yasukah-san, who's in love with Hiruma-san."

"…And Hiruma-san is in love with?" Kuroki continued.

"Yasukah-san. Okay, let's rephrase this. Umin is in love with Kazuki, right? Except Kazuki barely knows her name, and is enamored with Yasukah-san. Yasukah-san told him yesterday that she has a boyfriend –"

Kuroki snapped his fingers. "Oh! So Hiruma-san is her boyfriend!" His jaw dropped. "Wait, what?"

"…Never mind," Togano whispered. The two of them were hiding behind the locker room, avoiding practice. Togano had thought about what he had seen all night, and came to the only logical conclusion. He obviously couldn't tell Juumonji; the news would probably kill him. Kuroki was proving to be a little too clueless, and the last person Togano was going to tell was Umi-chan.

Umi-chan skipped around the field, watching practice and eyeing Juumonji every once in a while.

"So… who likes Umi-chan?" Kuroki wondered.

"Not really important," Togano told him. "We just can't let Umi-chan find out about any of this. She'll tell everybody."

"…Were you going to ask out Suzuna-san today?" Kuroki randomly asked.

"Not important, either," Togano replied, face turning a delicate shade of pink.

Umi-chan, as it were, was going over to interview Kurita and Komisubi. Togano cocked an eyebrow.

"How on earth is she going to understand Komisubi-kun?" Togano wondered.

"Maybe she speaks the language of strong people…" Kuroki offered before shaking his head. "No, probably not."

"Suzuna-kun!" Monta yelled, waving his arms, trying to get Suzuna's attention. Suzuna looked away from a few cheerleading uniforms to wave to Monta.

"Monta-kun!" Suzuna smiled. "Look what I just got!"

Monta grinned widely. "Cheer uniforms! Pretty MAX! …Did we get a new cheerleader?"

"We're going to have a new cheerleader," Suzuna corrected, "if she'll stop resisting!"

Suzuna glanced over in Kiyoko's direction. Kiyoko was watching Taki try to kick a football into the goalpost, giggling at his futile efforts. She took the ball from him and looked over to the innocent-enough Monta and Suzuna. She gulped before putting the football on a place-kicking tee and letting it rip. The ball went flying. It hit a random passerby in the head.

"She sucks worse than Hiruma-san," Suzuna marveled.

"Terrible MAX," Monta agreed. "…Is Kiyoko-chan going to be a cheerleader?"

Kiyoko was apologizing to the pedestrian that she had just beaned in the forehead. As she bowed repeatedly to the third-year, Suzuna grinned wickedly.

"She's pretty – gorgeous, even," Suzuna explained.

"I suppose so," Monta half-heartedly agreed.

"And I have a feeling that if we dress her as a cheerleader, that secret older boyfriend of her will come out of the woodwork and make himself known!" Suzuna gleefully exclaimed before a football hit her in the head. Monta turned around to see Kiyoko walk towards where Sena was lacing some turf shoes, a surreptitious smile on her face.

Monta gulped. "She's almost like Hiruma-san."

"No!" Suzuna blurted out. "Not at all! How stupid are you?!"

Umi-chan was actually enjoying interviewing Kurita and Komisubi. For the most part, they were easy to talk to and rather even-tempered. Umi-chan had gotten at least six pages of notes from their interview.

Umi-chan scrawled down another random bit of dialogue. "Okay, so the entire school is enthralled with this fish-out-of-water success story… especially the girls."

Kurita blinked before laughing oddly. Komisubi smirked.

"Is there anyone special in your guys' lives?" Umi-chan asked before shrugging. "If you don't want to answer –"

"No, it's a good question," Kurita replied. "And no one wants misunderstandings, like with Juumonji-kun and Yasukah-kun…" Kurita smiled. "There is a girl I like. But she goes to Kyoshin High School…"

Komisubi turned to Umi-chan. "Umph!"

Umi-chan grinned. "Oh, I get it. No one yet…"

Umi-chan thanked God that she could understand what Komisubi meant. Her experiences with Kiyoko's numerous brothers really did pay off.

The Yasukah family, unlike the Sango family, was very large, very rowdy, and very masculine. Kiyoko and her mom were two of four females left in their entire extended family. The rest were men. All of Kiyoko's siblings, for instance, were male football veterans: Kage, a relatively dense office worker who used to play for Zokugaku; Enmaru, now a member of the Japanese X-Leagues after playing for the Shinryuji Nagas; and Ako, the feminine costume designer who, believe it or not, was a member of the Ojo High School squad. Kiyoko's father was also a sports nut, and most of Kiyoko's cousins were football players at various schools.

The Sango family was small. Umi-chan was an only child, and her family was fairly balanced between boys and girls. While most of the men in Kiyoko's family used Power-speak, Umi-chan's family was very polite and mannerly. Umi-chan learned all about men from the Yasukah family, good and bad.

Kurita began to talk again. "Yeah, she works at a store I go to often. She might be a klutz, but I think she's cute…"

Kurita began twiddling his thumbs. "And if we get far enough in the Autumn Tournament, we're going to face Kyoshin, and I might see her in the crowd! Actually, I'm looking forward to seeing all of the different teams and their fans –"

An ominous click sounded from behind Kurita. Kurita turned around before smiling. "Oh, Hiruma. What're you doing?"

Hiruma stood behind him blankly, holding a pistol behind his back. "…Cleaning."

Umi-chan lifted an eyebrow. Of course she knew about Hiruma. It would be nearly impossible to not know about him. He basically ran the school with his black booklet and his weapons storehouse. Umi-chan knew that there was a gun behind his back. It was made even more apparent when he pointed it in her face.

"Who the hell is this?" Hiruma asked Kurita quickly, not moving his eyes away from Umi-chan. A single bead of sweat found its way down her cheek. Umi-chan's body tensed up.

"Um… I'm a reporter from the school newspaper, Umi Sango…" Umi-chan managed to peter out before her brain shut down. Her hand trembled, making her notebook shake uncontrollably. She shoved her other hand upon her shaking arm, trying to steady it. "…If you could move the gun… please… Hiruma-san…"

Hiruma thought for a moment before moving it. Kurita sighed before turning to Umi-chan, a blazing smile on his face. "Do you want to see the pictures of our games?"

Hiruma glared at Umi-chan. Umi-chan flinched. His eyes were like voids. Cold, open voids of nothingness. They couldn't be read.

"You wrote that article on Yasukah-san, didn't you?" Hiruma finally asked.

Kurita blinked while Komisubi tilted his head in a confused manner. Umi-chan sighed, thinking about her imminent death.

"I think that's the first time you've called Kiyoko-chan by her given name…" Kurita mused.

Umi-chan's shoulders sank. "Um, yeah, I wrote that." Umi-chan fell to her knees, going into a dogeza. "For the love of God, don't kill me!"

Hiruma recoiled as Kurita looked around, not wanting to watch but somehow being drawn to it. Komisubi got bored and went to practice his rushing technique with Kuroki and Togano.

"I wasn't going to kill you," Hiruma finally said, choosing his words carefully. "I was just wondering."

Hiruma walked away. Umi-chan sat up, her mind completely blank. He made being completely evil so effortlessly cool. Umi-chan shook her head. No, he wasn't being cool. He was an absolute monster. So monstrous that he could turn his singular act of homicidal weirdness into some display of mercy. Umi-chan clutched her arms, blocking an invisible chill.

"Umi-chan…" Kurita whispered, "are you all right?"

Umi-chan turned to him, giving a weak smile. "Yeah. I'm all right." She stood up uneasily, dusting herself off. "He has a rather… strong effect on people, doesn't he? …Let's go look at those pictures!"

Kurita became happy again, and led Umi-chan to the club room.

In the meantime, Togano leaned against a tackle dummy and sighed.

"…Crap."

A/N: Reviews! Oh my GOD! I can't believe it! Unfortunately I've kind of neglected all my stories and regular posting, what with going back to school taking up my life. Once again, we delve into the interesting life of snoop Umi Sango. I just love her character so much… but out of her, Ashira, and Kiyoko, I have to say that Kiyoko is my favorite. I wrote about her first, after all.

DISCLAIMER: I definitely don't own Eyeshield 21. I mean, come on.


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